Speaker: Mike NobisSunday School Teacher, Former Elder at Madison Park Christian Church. Mike is President of JK Creative Printers & Mailing in Quincy, IL. He is married to Pam and has three children, Tom, Tyler and Jennifer. Mike has three grandchildren: Ryne, Ivy and Alicia.

All Christians are
looking forward to the 2nd coming of Jesus. Everything in our life points
to that reality. You and I really don't belong here on this earth. As
I taught a few weeks ago concerning Satan, Earth is his territory and
we are behind enemy lines. In fact, it is a very dangerous place to be
where we are today. It is better for us to be with God and to be home
where we belong and a time is coming when that will be reality.

Unless Jesus comes
back very soon, we will meet Jesus when we die. Our existence will be
one of comfort and beauty but as we learned last week, where we will be
will only be temporary. Our existence will in a state where we wait for
Jesus return. That day is many times referred to in scripture and it will
be a glorious day for those in Jesus.

What is very interesting
is the phrase "Second Coming" is no where found in the
Bible. If you go and search for it, you won't find it however; the Day
is described and talked about a lot in the New Testament. In Paul's day,
the Christians at that time believed it was coming right away and they
lived their lives as though it was arriving any moment.

1
Peter 4:7The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled
so that you can pray.

Several of the New
Testament writers and Jesus himself warned and encouraged the believers
to be ready. Those found sleeping or not paying attention due to other
worldly distractions will not get a second chance once time is up and
they aren't ready. Notice what Jesus had to say about it.

Read
Matthew 25:1-13

Matthew
25:10-13 And
the door was shut. "Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they
said. 'Open the door for us!' "But he replied, 'I tell you the
truth, I don't know you.' Therefore keep watch, because you do not know
the day or the hour.

This principle was
first taught concerning Noah's ark. The same was true then and will be
true either at our death or when he returns.

Genesis
7:15-16Pairs
of all creatures that have the breath of life in them came to Noah and
entered the ark. The animals going in were male and female of every
living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.

There will come a
time for all of us when the door will shut or when time runs out. At the
horn to end the game, once the game is over, it is considered final and
can't be replayed. There have been many athletes who came so close to
winning the big one but when the buzzer went off, they lost. In the record
book there are the winners and there are the losers. For the losers, It
doesn't make a difference all the close plays or the "what ifs";
in the end they lost and there is no changing it. The winners go on while
the losers are left behind.

In the spiritual
scheme of things, it is also the same. There are no "almost made
its" in heaven. It is not like going to a professor when you are
one point from getting a passing grade and talking him into giving it
to you just because it would be a nice thing. You either pass or you don't.
It is not about being nice or arguing over what is fair or not, it is
strictly based on perfect judgment. It all depends upon if you are in
Christ or not.

At the second coming
of Jesus everything comes to and end. All creation turns to witness his
return and when he returns several things will take place. It is interesting
what the church taught concerning what the scene will look like.

1
Thessalonians 4:13-16Brothers,
we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to
grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus
died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus
those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word,
we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming
of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command,
with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God.

Paul wanted the church
to deal with death in its proper context. To often Christians react to
death in a totally inappropriate way. His design is to dissuade them from
excessive grief, or overwhelming sorrow. Paul tells the church that grief
is not wrong but be sure to understand for whom the grief is for; it is
not for the dead loved one, it is for those left behind. The dead in Christ
are in a much better state. He warns about being excessive in our sorrow;
if we grieve too much it send the wrong message:

This looks
as if we had no hope. It is to act too much like the Gentiles, who
had no hope of a better life after this. The hope we have in Jesus is
more than enough to balance the grief we might experience from the death
of a loved one or the trials that often follow.

What causes excessive
grief; according to Paul, ignorance concerning those who are
dead. Death is an unknown thing for the living. Until we experience
it, we won't really know what it is like. There are some hints in the
scriptures that help us accept the reality.

They are asleep
in Christ - death does not annihilate them 1
Corinthians 15:18. The intent is not that we sleep and are
unaware what is going on but the idea is one of rest and comfort.
We cease from our labors on this earth and we no longer experience
the pain and hardships our physical lives bring.

They will
be raised from the dead - The death and resurrection of Christ are
fundamental principles of the Christian faith, and give us hope
of a joyful resurrection.

Their state
and condition shall be glorious and happy at the second coming of
Christ.

At the return of
Jesus, God will collect those who have fallen asleep and when Jesus returns,
he will bring them with him for the resurrection of the body. At the resurrection,
both good and evil will rise up. It is important to understand what the
resurrection is and what will happen.

The Lord Jesus
will come down from heaven in all the pomp and power of the upper world
- The appearance will be with pomp and power, with a shout-the shout
of a king, and the power and authority of a mighty king and conqueror,
with the voice of the archangel; an innumerable company of angels will
attend him. 1Thes. 4:16

Jesus will return
as the great Redeemer and Judge - To announce the arrival of the king,
trumpets were sounded to get everyone's attention. The arrival of Jesus
will be the same way.

At the trumpet
call, all will be raised - This will awaken those that sleep in the
dust of the earth, and will summon all the world to appear.

What Paul wanted
the church to understand from all this was those that died before the
return of Jesus were not lost forever as some thought or were falsely
told. Instead they would be raised first.

1
Thessalonians 4:16-17For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command,
with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and
the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive
and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet
the Lord in the air.

Those who did not
sleep in death will have no greater privilege or joy at that day than
those who fell asleep in Jesus. Both will meet Jesus in the air and will
return to heaven with him. What is interesting about that moment is the
issue of the "great change". At the resurrection, we
will receive our spiritual bodies. It is very interesting how Paul writes
about it.

1
Corinthians 15:50-54I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the
kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen,
I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-in
a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet
will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the
mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the
imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that
is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."

The concept of the
spiritual body that we will receive at the resurrection has intrigued
many for centuries. What is the spiritual body and what will it be like?
Paul tells us right off that the principle of the spiritual body is a
"mystery". I did some in depth investigating on this idea of
it being a mystery and the Greek translation is:

muste¯rion
- a hidden or secret thing, not obvious to the understanding

There are just some
things out there we have to take in faith. It doesn't mean the concept
of the spiritual body is some phantom idea, it is real and it will be
reality to us some day but for now, we are unable in our limited capacity
to fully understand what it is. When the time comes to receive our spiritual
body, it all will make sense to us then. But for now, we just have to
trust God with what little information we have and trust he knows what
he is doing and talking about.

Look at 1
Corinthians 15:50-54, something is missing, what is it? Where are
those who are not believers in Christ? What happens to those who are dead
outside of Christ? What1
Corinthians 15 and 1 Thessalonians
4 deals with are those who are in Jesus. But what does the Bible
say about those who are not going to heaven? Jesus talks about the bigger
picture in Matthew 13.

Read Matthew
13:24-30; 37-43

Notice in Matthew's
account the dead, the evil are raised first and are sent to the place
where they will spend eternity. It is after that the dead in Christ are
raised and those who are in Christ receive their spiritual bodies. I think
the events in 1 Corinthians 15 takes place
after the lost are gathered and burned.

The final judgment,
when you hear that, what images come to your mind? What have you always
believed happens at the final judgment?

Revelation
20:10-13And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning
sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They
will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Then I saw a great
white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his
presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great
and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another
book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according
to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the
dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were
in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.

I want the Christians
to know that this judgment is not our judgment. There are hints in this
passage that tells us we will not be here when this happens. The dead
are the ones who are being judged. Those in Christ are the living. One
of the promises we have in Jesus is everlasting life. We are not dead
but alive.

1
Corinthians 15:22-26 For
as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in
his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who
belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom
to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and
power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his
feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

John saw in his revelation
from God what happened after the books were opened and the dead we judged.
The judgment of the dead is a just judgment. Justice will be served and
the dead will receive exactly what they deserve. It is easy to understand
here that God doesn't judge based on his feelings, he judges based on
his righteous judgment.

Revelation
20:14-15
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of
fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in
the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

What is found in
the books that are opened? First of all the deeds of men are recorded
and kept by God. Every man is judged based on those deeds. The natural
intent in man's heart is evil so the recording in the books is the proof
that man deserves death (the wages of sin is death). But the most important
book is opened, the book of life. In it is a listing of all those who
came alive because of Christ and who were declared not guilty because
of the blood of Jesus. The listing in the book of life is a listing of
those who are alive. The dead will see that they are not listed, and they
will already know they are not listed and it is that list that determines
judgment. You are either in Christ or not in Christ.

Matthew
25:31-34"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels
with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations
will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from
another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put
the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. "Then the King
will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father;
take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation
of the world.

Peter writes for
us something many don't think about. He too writes about what happens
in the end when Jesus comes back. Peter also writes for us what will happen
after we have gone to heaven. Today there are those who worry so much
about preserving our Mother Earth. The Earth to some is more important
than human life itself. There are those who think the universe is so vast
and limitless yet they forget how big God is. Peter reminds us to keep
all the material things in their proper perspective because in the end,
they will cease to exist.

2
Peter 3:10 But
the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear
with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and
everything in it will be burned up.

2
Peter 3:12-13That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire,
and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise
we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of
righteousness.

I don't want the
Christian to sit back and breathe a sigh of relief that we are not destined
for hell. In fact, this reality should really wake us up. At judgment
time there will also be an accounting for us to deal with. Going to heaven
will be a glorious day but for many of us our judgment will be a day to
suffer loss. I don't really know how this will work or what it will be
like, but there will be a reality in heaven that will cause some sort
of suffering.

1
Corinthians 3:10-15By
the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder,
and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how
he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already
laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using
gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown
for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed
with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If
what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned
up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping
through the flames.